


Beyond the Mirror

by Slyblueisblu



Series: Beyond the Mirror [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-01-18 05:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1416280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slyblueisblu/pseuds/Slyblueisblu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being dared to go into the old Shinganshina house, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin find a mysterious mirror in the attic, which sucks them into a different dimension. Jean, Marco and the others follow them in, and now they are left fighting for their lives against these mysterious creatures called "Titans" and searching for a way back home from within the mirror dimension.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Dare

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello, this is my first SNK fic, so I'm sorry if the characters are a little OOC. This is set in an alternate universe, where all the 104th trainee squad people are students, and the adults have various jobs around town. There is some JeanMarco and YumiKuri. Also, I'm sorry about not updating my other fics for a while. I'll try to update them as soon as possible. Enjoy, and please review! Disclaimer: I don't own SNK.

Ch. 1: The Dare

      "Hey, did you hear this? Another person went missing last night." Eren's head shot up at those words. Mikasa glanced in the direction of the voice, before directing her gaze back at Eren and Armin. "That's the third one this week. What's going on? Is it some sort of serial killer?" She said, looking slightly worried. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Eren said, standing up and heading over towards a group in the back of the classroom. Mikasa and Armin exchanged glances before getting and following him.

      "So, Jean, what do you know about the missing people?" Eren asked as he approached the group. Jean turned around at the sound of his voice. "What, do you want to play superhero?" Jean said, smirking. Eren opened his mouth, ready to deliver a retort, but Jean went on before he could. "I saw the latest person, Thomas Wagner, go into the old Shinganshina house yesterday. I also saw the other two missing people, Mina Carolina and Mylius Zeramuski go into the house on the day they disappeared."

      Eren blinked in surprise. The old Shinganshina house? They had always been told never to go in there, but he didn't think it would actually be dangerous. Jean must have seen something on his face because he gave a big shit-eating grin. "What, are you scared?" Eren shook his head and glared at Jean. "Of course I'm not," He snapped. "Eren," Mikasa cautioned, sensing where this was heading. "Then why don't you go vist the old house? And bring something from inside so we know that you actually went inside. Unless, you're too scared," Jean said. "Jean, don't," Marco said, placing a hand on Jean's arm. But, of course, it was to late.

      "Alright, I'll go, and I'll show you whose scared," Eren said, stepping forward. "Armin, Mikasa, you going to go with me?" He asked, looking back at them. "Of course," Mikasa said, without hesitation. They both looked at Armin, who looked hesitant. "It's alright Armin, you don't have to come if you don't want to," Eren said gently. "I-I'll go," Armin said, looking slightly nervous.

      "That settles it. We'll go right after school," Eren said, turning back to Jean. "R-Right after school? But why?" Armin said, a little alarmed. "The sooner we get it over with, the better, right?" Eren said, looking over his shoulder at Armin. "Good luck, and don't forget to bring something back," Jean said. Eren opened his mouth to say something, but the teacher walked in at that moment. He settled for giving him a glare before they all headed to their seats.

       As the teacher droned on about World War II, Armin looked out the window. The stormclouds gathering on the horizon gave him a bad feeling about the events that were to take place this afternoon.


	2. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being dared to go into the old Shinganshina house, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin find a mysterious mirror in the attic, which sucks them into a different dimension. Jean, Marco and the others follow them in, and now they are left fighting for their lives against these mysterious creatures called "Titans" and searching for a way back home from within the mirror dimension.

Ch. 2: Preperations

      After school that day Eren, Mikasa, and Armin headed over to Eren's house to make preperations for their excursion. Since his mother died and his father worked late most days, they were able to gather their supplies, which included flashlights, extra batteries, a bag to hold their stuff, three water bottles, some snacks, a couple of umbrellas and jackets, as it was supposed to rain later that evening, and a video recorder, without questions.

      "Why a video recorder?" Armin asked when Eren came back into the living room carrying the video recorder. "Jean probably won't believe us if we just bring back a small item, even though he was the one who told us to bring back an item, because he's a dick like that, so I thought we should record our adventure. Besides, we might be able to catch ghosts with it!" Eren excitedly, eyes gleaming.

      "How long do we plan to stay in the house?" Mikasa asked, eyeing the umbrellas and jackets. "It's not supposed to start raining until six." "Well, I was thinking we could look for the missing people while we were there," Eren said, zipping up the bag. "Well, shall we get going?" Eren asked, standing up and hoisting the bag onto his shoulder. Mikasa and Armin exchanged glances before standing as well. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine," Eren said reassuringly.

 _Somehow, I doubt that_ , Armin thought, following Eren and Mikasa out of the house and down the street towards their destination. He looked up at the sky as they walked and a chill ran down his spine. The sky overhead was growing darker, and that just served to increase the bad feeling he had had all day. "Armin, hurry up!" Eren shouted at him, causing him to jump. Eren and Mikasa were a ways down the street, looking back at him. "Coming!" Armin called back, running to catch up to them. He just hoped nothing went to terribly wrong.

      "Jean, do you really think they'll be alright?" Marco asked worridly. "They'll be fine. They've got Mikasa with them and she won't let anything happen to them. I bet the missing people just fell through some rotten floor boards and they'll find them in the basement of something," Jean replied, pulling Marco closer to him and pressing his lips to the nape of Marco's neck. "I hope you're right," Marco murmered, relaxing into his touch. "Of course I'm right. I am all the time, aren't I?" Jean said. Marco could feel him smile against the back of his neck. He rolled his eyes and lightly elbowed Jean in the ribs. "Hey, what was that for?" Jean complained, pulling back slightly. "You're only right part of the time," Marco said, twisting around to look back at him. "Way to wound my ego," Jean grumbled. "It needs to be kept in check," Marco laughed, leaning back against Jeans chest. Even with Jeans reassurement, he couldn't help but worry about Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. He had a bad feeling about it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I spent more time writing that JeanMarco scene than I should have. Please review!


	3. The Old Shinganshina House

Chapter Three: The Old Shinganshina House

 

       “Well, here we are!” Eren said, standing in front of the old Shinganshina house. “It's big,” Mikasa said, staring up at it. “And worn down,” Armin added, scanning the house. “The paint's all faded away, and the lawn's severely overgrown.” “Naturally. No one's lived here in ages,” Eren said. “Let's go in and get this over with,” Mikasa said, starting towards the house. “Wait for us!” Eren shouted, hurrying after her. Armin sighed and shook his head before heading after them.

        “These stairs are creaky,” Mikasa noted, climbing the stairs to the front porch. “There are a lot of holes too,” Eren said, looking around the porch. Mikasa walked up to the front door and studied it before lightly pushing it. To their surprise, the door opened easily, making an awful creaking noise as Mikasa pushed it harder. The three of them cringed. “So loud,” Eren said, straightening up. “Let's go in.” Mikasa went in first, followed closely by Eren and Armin.

        “It's cold in here,” Mikasa said, shivering slightly as they walked inside. “And damp,” Armin said, looking around. “It smells too,” Eren said, wrinkling his nose. He set the bag down, unzipped it, and pulled out the video recorder. He turned it on, waited a couple of seconds for it to power up and pressed a couple of buttons. He swung the video recorder around, stopping on Armin and Mikasa and turned it on himself, before turning it back around. “Making sure we all get in the video,” Eren said when Armin and Mikasa looked at him questioningly. He zipped the bag up and stood up, looking over at Mikasa when she called his name. “Will this do for the item we need to bring back?” She asked, holding up a broken picture frame. “Yeah, that'll do,” Eren said, taking the picture frame from her and putting it in the bag. “Let's start looking for those kids. They're bound to be around here somewhere,” Eren said, staring for the left doorway. “It'll be best if we split up. We can cover more ground that way." Armin looked as if was about to say something, but just shook his head and headed down the front hallway. Mikasa stood there for a couple of seconds before heading through the right doorway.

       Eren walked through the doorway, swinging the video recorder around. The room appeared to have been a family room at one point, with the remnants of a couple of couches and bookcases lying about the room. There were also some broken picture frames of varying sizes scattered around the room. There was a door on the adjacent wall. He walked over to the door and tested the knob. It turned easily and, like the front door, creaked loudly. Beyond the door, stairs descended into darkness. The air that drifted up from what Eren guessed was the basement was colder than the air in the room, and it brought up a wretched stench with it. Eren stumbled away from the door, gagging. He took a flash light out of the bag, turned it on, and maneuvered it so he could hold it in the same hand as his video recorder, and pulled the front of his shirt over his nose and held it there. He went back over to the doorway and started down the stairs, testing each of the steps before placing his foot on it.

      He eventually reached the bottom and was greeted with a thin layer of water. The smell down here was greater than at the top of the stairs. He switched to breathing in through his mouth and pinched his nose shut. He moved further into the basement and swung the flashlight and video recorder around. There wasn't much in the room beyond an ancient washer and dryer, some broken wood, and a lump in the middle of the room, which Eren figured to be a dead animal of some kind, which would explain the awful smell. He determined that none of the missing people were down here and hurried back up the stairs, eager to get out of the foul-smelling room. He closed the door behind him once he reached the top and head back to the foyer to meet up with Armin and Mikasa.

      Armin walked down the hallway, looking around. There were a few doors and a couple of archways, one to his left leading into the kitchen and another at the end of the hallway. He decided to leave the kitchen alone, and moved to try the doors instead. To his surprise and frustration, all but one of the doors would open, no matter how much force he put into trying to open them. He opened the only unlocked door slowly and peered in. The room appeared to be the master bedroom, with a large, mostly intact bed frame in the middle of the room, with a couple broken armchairs, bookcases and a vanity table also scattered throughout the room. There was a sliding door that Armin guessed lead to a closet on one side of the room, and doorway on the other side. Through it, Armin could see a broken bathtub. Other than that, there was nothing else in the room that caught his eye. He closed the door and headed for the archway at the end of the hall.

      Armin walked through the archway, gazing around the room. The room he ended up in looked like a living room. There were a couple of torn and moldy couches, remnants of a coffee table, some broken bookcases and a dusty fireplace. There wasn't much else in the room besides a mouse that scurried across the room and disappeared behind the bookcases. Armin stood watching the spot where the mouse disappeared for a few seconds before turning around and heading back to the foyer.

      Mikasa headed through the right doorway and into a room that appeared to be a dining room. There were pieces of a large dining table and dining chairs scattered about the room. There were a couple of broken cabinets in the back of the room and there were rotten, tattered curtains hanging over the dusty windows. There were pieces of china laying around the room, so Mikasa kept an eye on the ground as she picked her way over to the archway on the right side of the doorway she came through.

      She walked through the archway into what looked like a kitchen. There was little left in the room besides pieces of wood and granite that she guessed were once the counters and some more broken china pieces and a couple pieces of silverware. She made her way carefully over to the archway on her right and headed back to the foyer.

      “So, did anyone find anything?” Eren asked when they had all gathered. “Other than a bunch of wood and other broken things, I saw nothing,” Mikasa said. “Same here,” Armin said, “I didn't find anything either. The only place left to check now is the second floor,” Eren said, looking up the staircase. “Let's head on up,” He said and started up the stairs. Mikasa went up after, with Armin trailing behind.

       When they reached the second floor, a long hallway filled with doors and another staircase at the end greeted them. “Let's try all these doors first before we head up the stairs,” Eren suggested, heading for the nearest door. Armin and Mikasa did the same.

       They found that only a few doors would open, and there was little inside the rooms beyond more pieces of wood and ceramics. Finally, the approached the stairs at the end of the hallway.

       “This is the last place we can easily get to. If the missing people aren't here, it means they've either been kidnapped of killed,” Eren said, gazing up the stairs at the door that lay at the top of the stairs that led to the attic. “Let's go look and see,” He said, slowly climbing the stairs. Mikasa and Armin followed closely behind. When they reached the top, Eren tried the door handle, and it surprisingly turned easily and they headed inside.

        The attic was like the rest of the house, with pieces of wood scattered around and a few boxes here and there. The only thing that stood out was the large floor mirror that stood in the middle of the room. The mirror looked very out of place compared to the state of the rest of the house. The glass shone in the light of Erens flashlight, and it reflected the three of them clearly. There was not a speck of dust or dirt on the mirrors surface.

        “What's this mirror doing here?” Eren asked, stepping closer to the mirror. “The previous owners probably left it here. The question is, why is it so clean? It looks brand new,” Armin said, stepping beside Eren. “Maybe the others who came here cleaned it,” Mikasa suggested, Coming onto Erens other side. “Maybe,” Eren said, peering closer. He reached out his hand toward the mirror and when he touched it, there was a bright flash of light. When Armin and Mikasa could see clearly again, they stared in shock. Where Eren had been moments before, there was nothing but empty air.

        “Eren!” Mikasa and Armin shouted at the same time, searching frantically. The scoured the attic, but saw no signs of Eren. “What happened? What was that light? Where's Eren?” Mikasa demanded, standing in front of the mirror. “That light appeared when Eren touched the mirror, and that's when he disappeared. There's something about this mirror...” Armin said, reaching out to touch the mirror. “Wait, no!” Mikasa shouted, reaching to stop him, but it was too late. Armins fingers brushed the surface of the mirror. The same light as before flashed, and he was gone. Mikasa stared at where Armin had been standing before she turned to face the mirror. She reached and hesitantly touched the mirrors surface.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is shorter than I expected it to be. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed chapter three! I have no idea when chapter four will be out, but look for it some time next week. Please favorite and review!


	4. Inside the Mirror

Mikasa landed on something soft, it felt like grass when she touched it. She slowly opened her eyes to see Eren and Armins worried faces hovering over her. “Are you alright?” Eren asked, standing up and extending a hand to her. “I'm fine, but what about you? Are you hurt?” She asked, taking his hand. “We're fine,” Eren said, helping her to her feet. “What is this place? Where are we?” Mikasa asked, getting a good look at her surroundings.”I'm not sure, but I think we were sucked into a world that resides within the mirror we found,” Armin said, standing up. “Do you suppose we'll find the missing people in here?” Eren asked. “More than likely,” Armin replied. “We can look for them later. First, we need to find a way out of here.”

“We should be careful, we don't know what dangers this place holds,” Mikasa said as they started walking. “Naturally,” Eren said. “We haven't heard anything at all, which is really odd. I thought there should be at least some birds chirping or something like that, but it's been dead silent.” “That might be because while it looks like our world, the creatures inhabiting aren't,” Armin said. Mikasa nodded her head and kept silent, taking the time to get a better look at her surroundings. They were in a clearing surrounded on all sides by thick, dark woods. There were a few rocks in the clearing , but there was nothing to suggest that there were others here.

After walking some ways through the woods, they came across a stream and Eren suggested that they stop there to rest. They took out the water bottles and sat down on some dry rocks by the stream. “So what are we going to do? We're just wandering around aimlessly and getting nowhere,” Armin said. “It's better doing nothing. That would make us sitting ducks for any creatures that might inhabit this place,” Eren said. “This makes us even more of a target. Predators tend to go for moving targets rather than stationary,” Armin replied. “Hey, let's not argue now,” Mikasa said, shifting forward. “She's right. Let's just keep going for now,” Eren said, standing up. Armin and Mikasa stood up with him and they started following the stream southward.

They had been walking for a while when Armin spotted something off to the side. “Hey, what's that?” Armin asked, pointing to the object. “I don't, but we should check it out,” Eren said, setting off to check it out, with Armin and Mikasa following closely behind. Eren shifted aside the branches of the bush and all three of them stopped and stared in shock. Before them lay the body of the missing people, Thomas Wagner. His body was mangled by terrible bite and claw marks, to the point he was nearly unrecognizable underneath all of them blood.  
“T-Thats Thomas isn't? What happened to him..?” Armin asked, putting his hand over his mouth and staggering backward. “I-I think so...” Eren said. “It looks like he was attacked by some sort of big animal... What kind of animal did this?” Mikasa asked, kneeling down Thomas' body. “It probably wasn't an animal,” Armin said. Suddenly, there was sound like a twig snapping behind them. They all tensed up and slowly turned around. A large black shape loomed in the trees in front of them. Their eyes widened in terror and they screamed, running into the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I would have updated this sooner, but I've been so busy lately, I haven't had the time. After next week, I should be on a regular updating schedule of at least one chapter a week, depending on how much I get written. Please review!


	5. Worried

Chapter 5: Worried

 

            “Jean, I'm worried. It's been two days since they went into the house and there's been no word since,” Marco said at lunch that day. “Yeah, maybe we should go in after them,” Sasha said. Everyone murmured their agreement. “Alright, we'll go this afternoon. Is that alright with everyone?” Jean asked. They all nodded and Jean settled back in his chair. “We'll meet outside the house at four. Bring flashlights and something to protect yourself with, like a baseball bat. We don't know what we might encounter,” He said. Everyone exchanged uneasy glances and nodded again. “Do you really think we'll need weapons?” Marco asked as everyone resumed talking amongst each other. “Hopefully not, but it's better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them,” Jean said. Marco turned back, still uneasy. He hoped they would be able to find Eren, Armin and Mikasa quickly and easily. He didn't want to spend anymore time in that house than he had to.

            Hanji stood near the table, listening into the conversation. The mention of the three most recent missing people and a 'house' peeked her interest. They way they were talking made her think of the reportedly haunted Shinganshina house, and she had a bad feeling that was the house they were planning on going in to. She had heard other rumors about the house, about how there was a supposed portal to another dimension, and that was why whomever went in never came back out. She figured the other missing students had also gone into the house and failed to return, and they were planning a rescue operation. Even with as large a group as theirs, they would still be in danger. She decided she would follow them into the house. But, she wasn't going to do it alone.

            “Why are you dragging me into this?” Levi asked, setting his tea down and crossing his arms. “Because we can't let them go in there alone!” Hanji said. “But they're not. You said the group was nine people strong,” He pointed out. “They're my students! I can't just leave them!” She exclaimed, becoming increasingly frustrated. “Then why are trying to drag me along?” He asked. “I don't want to go by myself!” She said. “But you won't. Those nine students will be there too,” He replied calmly. “That's not what I-!” She cut herself off, looking at the clock of the coffee shop they were in. “It's 3:30 now. They're going to meet outside the house at four. Are you coming or not?” She asked, looking back at him. He sighed and stood up, grabbing his tea. “I might as well. Who knows what kind of trouble you can get yourself into on your own,” He said, grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair. Her eyes widened and she smiled widely at him. “Thank you!” She exclaimed happily. “Yeah, yeah, let's get going,” He said, turning and heading for the door. She grabbed her coffee and hurried after him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is much shorter than I anticipated. Please review!


	6. Into the House

Chapter 6: Into The House

“Alright, we'll be splitting up into three groups of three. Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie are a group. Ymir, Krista, and Sasha are a group and Connie, you're with me and Marco. Any problems?” Jean asked. Everyone shook their heads. “Okay, let's head on in. Leave no room unsearched,” Jean turned to head up the path towards the house when Connie's voice stopped him. “What if the doors locked or stuck?” He asked. Jean turned back around. “Bust it in with your bat or something,” He said and resumed walking. “Ah, wait for us!” Marco called, hurrying after him, everyone following closely behind. 

“We should wait a few minutes before we go in to ensure we're not spotted,” Levi said, standing up and stepping out from behind the car he and Hanji were crouched behind. “Sounds good. What will we do when we get in there?” Hanji asked, standing up and stretching. “We'll do some investigating of our own while keeping an eye on the others,” He replied. “I think we've given them enough time to move away from the front door. Let's go,” He said, walking towards the house with Hanji following.

Marco looked up at the sound of a door opening and closing. “Is something wrong?” Jean asked , glancing over at him. “No, it's nothing,” Marco replied, smiling reassuringly at him. Jean stared at him for a couple of seconds before turning back to what he was doing. They were searching a room that looked like it might have been a family room, but there wasn't much there. There were a couple of torn and moldy couches, the remnants of a fire place and some broken picture frames and bookcases. Determining that there was nothing to be found there, they moved over to the door on the northern wall of the room. Jean opened the door and shined his flashlight down into the darkness. There were a set of stairs beyond the door that led down into what was probably a basement. A rank smell drifted up from the darkness and they gagged, taking a few steps back. After taking a moment to catch their breath, they took a big gulp of air pulled their shirts over their noses and held them there with the hand that wasn't holding their flashlight and descended the stairs slowly with Jean in the front, Marco right behind him and Connie bringing up the rear. 

When they reached the bottom, they spread out to search the basement. There was a thin layer of water covering the floor, and the air was much colder than the rest of the house. After taking a few steps into the middle of the room, Marco discovered the source of the awful smell. There was a decomposing corpse of a small animal, a cat or dog by the looks of it. “Poor thing,” Connie said, coming up beside Marco. Jean came over and nodded solemnly, turning to face Marco and Connie. “Did either of you find anything?” He asked. “I saw a broken table and a couple of chairs,” Connie said and Marco shook his head. “I didn't see anything besides an old washer and dryer. Let's head back to the foyer to meet with the others,” Jean said, heading for the stairs. Marco and Connie followed closely behind, eager to get out of the foul smelling room.

“This room is a mess!” Sasha remarked, looking around the room. It appeared to a dining room, with torn and disgusting curtains hanging over dusty windows, a busted dining table and some broken chairs, a couple mainly intact china cabinets and broken china pieces scattered around the room. “We should be careful. Don't want to get cut up,” Ymir said, moving into the room. There wasn't much else in the room beyond what they saw when they first entered to room other than a necklace Sasha found in one of the china cabinets, so they made their way carefully into the next room.

The next room they found themselves in was what appeared to be a kitchen. The room was mostly empty, except for more wood pieces, broken granite pieces, more broken china and a couple of spoons that Ymir picked and put in her pocket. Deciding there was nothing else of interest to be found in the room, they headed back to the foyer to meet up with everyone else.

“Let's split up and each take a room,” Reiner said, turning to face Bertolt and Annie. They nodded and each moved to a doorway. The one that Bertolt choose was unlocked, while Reiner's and Annie's weren't from the sounds of them attempting to bust down the doors. The room he was in had a broken bed frame pushed against one wall, a couple of broken end tables missing their drawers, a closet that was empty and had a musty smell and a doorway that led into a bathroom. He walked through the doorway and saw a broken bathtub and a sink and pieces of porcelain. Seeing nothing else in there, he headed back into the hallway.

“Did you find anything?” Reiner when Bertolt rejoined them. Nothing notable,” Bertolt said. “Same here,” Reiner said. “Same with me,” Annie said. “All that's left is the room at the end of this hallway. Let's go,” Reiner said, heading towards the archway at the end of the hall with Annie and Bertolt following behind. 

The room they entered looked like it was once a living room. There were a couple of torn and filthy couches, a broken coffee table and a couple of broken bookcases. After a bit of searching, they didn't find anything else, so they went back to the foyer to meet up with everyone else.

“It's harder to evade them than I thought,” Hanji whispered, peeking around the corner and stepping out when she ascertained that the cost was clear. “Perhaps you should have thought of that before you came here,” Levi said, stepping out behind her. “Hush now,” She said, looking over her shoulder. “Let's go into the kitchen,” She said, heading towards the doorway in front of them. Levi rolled his eyes before following her.

Hanji was inspecting something on the ground when he walked in. He walked over to her and crouched beside her. “What are you looking at?” He asked. She looked up at the sound of his voice. “I just thought I saw something,” She said, standing up and offering a hand to Levi. “I don't need help. I'm not that old,” He grumbled, standing up. Hanji just smiled and rolled her eyes. “Well, let's go,” She said, walking to the doorway in the south wall of the room when her foot caught on something and she fell. Levi reached out to try and stop her fall, but it wasn't enough and they both crashed to the ground, causing a loud thud. “Oh shit,” Hanji said as they heard running footsteps heading towards them.

“Did anyone find anything?” Jean asked when they regrouped in the foyer. “I found a necklace!” Sasha said, holding it up. “I found two spoons,” Ymir said, holding them up. “Okay, other than that?” Jean asked, looking at the others. They all shook their heads. “Well, that just leaves the second floor then,” Jean said, looking up the stairs. “Let's go.” He started up the stairs when a loud thud resounded from somewhere in the house. Everyone stopped and started at each other in fear. “That sounds like it came from the kitchen,” Ymir said, breaking the silence. “Let's go,” Reiner said, running in the direction, baseball bat in front of him, everyone following suit with their own weapons.

The sight that greeted them was the last thing they expected to see. Their biology teacher, Hanji Zoe, and the head librarian at the local library, Levi, sprawled in a heap on the floor. “Ms. Zoe? Mr. Levi? What are you doing here?” Sasha asked, stepping forward and offering a hand to Hanji. “Well, I happened to overhear your conversation at lunch today, and I was worried about you being here alone, so I decided to come to. But I didn't want ot come by myself, so I asked Levi to accompany me,” Hanji said, accepting Sasha's hand. “But we're not alone. There's nine of us,” Jean pointed out as Sasha helped her to her feet. “That's what I told her,” Levi said, standing up and brushing himself off. “But she still insisted on coming.” “I was worried about,” She said, grinning sheepishly. “Nothing we can do about it now. Let's just go on up to the second floor,” Jean said, turning and leaving the kitchen, with everyone following and Levi muttering about how filthy the place was.

“Have you found any sign of Eren and the others?” Hanji asked as they ascended the stairs to the second floor. “Not yet,” Jean replied as they reached the second floor. There were seven doors, three on each side of the hallway and one at the end of the door, and only three opened, but they decided to leave the door at the end of the hall for last. They busted through the other four, but there was nothing beyond them besides a closet, a bathroom and four bedrooms that didn't hold much, and certainly nothing to suggest anyone had been in them. They went down to the door at the end of the hall and opened it. Like almost every other door in the house, it creaked horribly when they opened it and beyond it was a set of stairs leading upward. Jean shined his flashlight up the stairs, but it didn't reveal much besides a couple of dusty boxes. He started up the stairs carefully, and one by one everyone filed up after him.

When they reached the top, they were hit with a blast of cold air and disappointment. There wasn't anything up there besides a bunch of boxes and a mirror in the middle of the room. “They're not here,” Sasha said dejectedly and the others looked down sadly. Marco sighed, shoulders drooping, and looked over at the mirror. Something about it felt off. He walked over to it, peering at it curiously and his eyes widened in shock and he dropped his flashlight and rolling pin he had been using as a weapon. “What is it Marco?” Jean asked, walking over to him. “This flashlight, it looks like one I've seen Armin use before, and this mirror, it looks far to clean to have been sitting up here in an attic for who knows how long,” Marco said. Jean crouched down and picked up the flashlight. “You're right,” Jean said, standing back up. The others came over, looking between the flashlight and the mirror. “This mirror... I wonder what it's doing here?” Hanji asked, reaching out and touching the surface of the mirror. There was a sudden flash of light and everyone quickly closed their eyes. When they opened their eyes and they readjusted to the dimness of the attic, they all gasped in horror. Hanji was gone, and there was no indication to where she might have gone. 

“What happened? Where'd she go?” Sasha asked frantically. “I don't know. She just... vanished,” Jean said slowly. “Calm down. Panicking isn't going to help us,” Levi said sharply. “He's right,” Reiner said, captiously moving closer to the mirror. “That flash of light occurred when Hanji touched the mirror, and that's when she disappeared. I think that this mirror is a portal of sorts,” Jean said, studying the mirror closely. Everyone looked amongst each other and then at Levi, whom they expected to rebuff the statement as the no nonsense kind of guy he is. Levi seemed lost in thought for a couple of seconds before shaking his head. “I've heard rumors that there was a portal that led to another world here, but that's what I thought it was. Just a rumor. But it turns out it may be the truth...” He said. Everyone looked at each other nervously. Jean straightened up and cleared his throat. “The only way to find out is to try it,” Jean said, reaching out and touching the mirror. There was another flash of light and Jean was gone. “It seems it's true...” Levi said quietly and faced everyone else. “We're all going in. We can't leave them in there by themselves and we might find the other missing people in there as well,” He said before going up to the mirror and touching it's surface. Just like the other two times, there was a flash of light, and he was gone. Everyone stood there quietly for a few moments before Sasha spoke up. “What if we never find a way out and are trapped in there forever?” She asked. “Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find a way out. For now, let's just focus on getting in,” Reiner said, touching the mirror. A flash of light, and he was gone. Everyone repeated the process one by one until the attic was empty, no sign that anyone had been there except for the two flashlights and the rolling pin on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Two chapters this week because I didn't update last week. Enjoy and review!


	7. Where are we?

Ch.7: Where are we?

 

       Marco blinked open his eyes and slowly sat up, looking around, trying to get his bearings. He was in a large grassy clearing with large trees surrounding it. A lazy breeze drifted through, stirring the grass and flowers. Everyone else was sitting around or standing talking to each other, glancing around. Jean was walking over to him, having noticed that he was awake.

      “Are you alright?” Jean asked, offering his hand to Marco.

     “I'm fine,” Marco replied, taking Jean's outstretched hand. Jean helped him to his feet and led him over to where everyone else had gathered, not letting go of his hand. Once they had joined the group, Levi cleared his throat.

     “Now that everyone is here, we need to figure put exactly what this place is, finding Eren and his group, and get the hell out of here,” He said.

     “Finding Eren and them should be first priority. We can't leave without them. As for where we are, I believe we are in a different dimension,” Hanji said, moving to stand beside Levi.

     “A different dimension?” Sasha gasped.

     “Yes, a different dimension. The mirror serves as a portal between this dimension and our own. It explains why the mirror was in such good condition despite the rest of the house being a wreck,” Hanji said. “ I've done some research into the house. The one's who built the house was a married couple back in the late 1600's. The husband died not long after the completion of the house of a mysterious illness, and the woman never remarried. A few years later, she was accused of being a witch and was imprisoned. She managed to escape and fled back to her house. When officials got there, they found no trace of the woman, and a mysterious mirror in the attic.”

     “So the woman made this dimension?” Connie asked.

     “Doubtful. But she might've found a way to connect this dimension to ours by way of the mirror.” Hanji replied.

     “But why?” Jean asked.

     “She might've been trying to make a portal to the afterlife,” Ymir said. “Grief makes people do crazy things, especially if it was someone they were very close to.”

     “But she failed and ended up making a portal to somewhere else,” Krista said.

     “Exactly. She must've come in here when she first made the portal, realized that this isn't the place she was aiming for, and made a portal to return to her dimension with. We just have to find it,” Hanji said. “But first things first, we have to find Eren and the others.”

     “Let's get going then. We've wasted enough time standing around talking. I'd rather not spend any more time here than I have to,” Levi said, turning and heading off towards the forest.

     “Hey, wait for us!” Hanji exclaimed, hurrying after him. Everyone quickly followed suit. A dark shape slithered out of the trees on the other side of the clearing and stopped in the middle of the clearing. It sniffed at the air for a few moments before moving in the same direction the group had gone.

     They had been walking for a while when Krista abruptly stopped and squatted down next to something.

     “What is it, Krista?” Ymir asked, turning around and heading back to where she was.

     “There are some sort of tracks here, but I don't know what kind they are,” She said. The rest of the group gathered around them, peering at the tracks.

     “They don't look like any kind of animal tracks I've ever seen before, and they don't look human either. They seem like a weird mix between the two,” Reiner said.

     “Let's follow them and see where they lead,” Levi said, starting off in the direction the tracks led.

     “But what if we run into whatever made these tracks?” Sasha asked, trembling slightly.

     “We should be fine. The tracks appear old, at least a day or so. The creature's likely far enough ahead of us that we won't run into it,” Levi said, continuing onward. Everyone else exchanged uneasy looks before quickly following after him.

     They walked a considerable distance when they emerged from the bushes at a stream. They stopped there to sit down and take a much needed break after walking for a long time. As they were sitting there chatting, Marco looked across the stream, abruptly standing and moving closer to the stream.

     “What is it?” Jean asked, looking up at him.

     “There's something over there, but I can't quite make it out,” He replied, pointing into the bushes on the other side of the stream. Levi stood up, stepping over the stream and moving to where Marco was pointing. Everyone followed after him, curiosity overpowering any fear they might've felt over the unknown object or being. They joined up with Levi and gasped in horror. A horribly mangled body lay in the bushes with a black bag lying nearby. Everyone except for Levi and Hanji stumbled back, gagging from the smell of the decomposing corpse. Levi and Hanji put their hands over their noses and Levi knelt next to the body while Hanji stood there staring at it. Levi picked up a brown rectangular wallet and flipped it open.

     “It's one of the missing students, Thomas Wagner,” He said, showing the wallet to Hanji.

     “What?” Sasha said, looking horrified. “But h-he was here just a week ago.. What's going on, what is this place!?” She screamed, putting her head in her hands, tears streaming down her face. Connie and Ymir knelt to her, attempting to calm her down. Annie picked up the bag the lay in the bushes and opened it, rifling through it's contents. She pulled out a cellphone and turned it on. She narrowed her eyes and stood up.

     “The bag, it's Eren's,” She said. Reiner looked over her shoulder at the phone screen and nodded.

     “It is. I recognize the lock screen photo,” He confirmed.

     “There's also a camcorder in here that shows Eren, Armin, and Mikasa in the house,” Krista said, watching a video play on the camcorder.

     “These tracks head into the forest. They likely found the body and something, probably the thing that made the tracks we've been following, came up on them and chased them deeper into the forest,” Hanji said, standing up.

     “Let's get going. If we hurry, maybe we can find them still alive,” Levi said, standing up.

     “Sasha, can you stand?” Ymir asked, standing and offering her a hand. Sasha nodded silently and took her hand, Connie standing with them.

     “Will you be alright?” Hanji asked, standing in front of her. She wiped her eyes with her hands and nodded.

     “I'll be okay” She said in quiet voice.

     “Let's hurry then,” Levi said, quickly heading in the direction of the tracks and crushed foliage, everyone following closely behind.

     A dark shape moved out of the brush on the other side of the stream. It stopped on the bank of the stream and stood there for a moment before stepping over the stream and following the group into the woods.

 


	8. Pursuit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It's been awhile since I last updated this fic. Sorry to make you wait so long, I've been busy with marching band, and I had writers block when writing this chapter. When marching band ends, I'll probably have more time to write, and updates should come more quickly than every 3 months. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me despite all this. You rock. Anyways, enjoy and leave a review! Disclaimer: I don't own SNK.

Chapter 8: Pursuit

Eren collapsed, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He had never run that fast or that much in his life before and it burns. How professional runners do it, he'll never be able to understand. His blood was roaring in his ears, his hearts was pounding in his chest and his lungs and throat burned with every breath he took.

As his breathing began to gradually slow down, he looked up and around, trying to get his bearings. Mikasa was leaning against a tree, her eyes closed as she tried to slow her breathing. Armin stood with his hands on his knees, bent over and coughing violently.

After a couple of minutes, Mikasa reopened her eyes and pushed herself off the tree, making her way over to Eren and silently offering him her hand. He took it and she helped pull him to his feet and they made their way over to Armin, who had straightened up and stopped coughing for the most part.

“Did we lose it?” Mikasa asked, glancing back the way they came running from.

“It would appear so. I don't hear any signs that it's still following us. Besides, it would have caught us as we were catching our breath,” Armin replied.

“What was that thing?” Eren asked, shuddering slightly as he remembered it's large lumbering form and heavy footsteps.

“I don't know. I wasn't able to get a good look at it. Whatever it was, it's large and powerful. I'm willing to bet that this place is filled with creatures like that one. We better be more careful from now on. Who knows what will show up next,” Armin said speculatively.

“Hey Eren,” Mikasa said, speaking up abruptly. “Where is your bag?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? It's right he-” He cut off as he looked down to discover his bag no longer hanging by his side. “It's gone! Where did it go?” Eren said frantically, looking all around him.

“You probably dropped it when the creature started chasing us,” Armin said.

“Damn! That had all our stuff in it!” Eren exclaimed, frustrated. “We have to go back for it!”

“Do we know how to get back to where you likely dropped it? We ran a long distance. Besides, there's the possibility we may run into that creature again,” Armin pointed out.

“If we keep a straight line path, we should be able to get back just fine. The creature was big, so it probably made some prints we can follow. The bag has some important stuff in it. We can't just leave it behind,” Eren said. Armin sighed. If Eren had his mind set to something, nothing could dissuade him. Their best bet was to go along with him to retrieve the bag. Arguing would get them no where, and splitting up was a bad idea. The creature that had been tailing them was probably far enough away by now that they didn't have to worry about coming back for them.

“Alright. Let's get going,” Armin said. “We don't want to get caught in these woods at night, if this place even has a night.”

Eren gave a short nod and turned around. “We came from over there,” He said, pointing to a trampled and broken patch of foliage. “There should be enough broken foliage to indicate which way we need to go.” With a path set before them, they pushed their way through the bushes and made their way back to the stream.

They hadn't been walking for very long before they heard the sound of breaking branches and crunching leaves. Eren held his hand out as an indicator for the others to stop, listening to determine the direction the noise had come from.

“It's coming from in front of us,” Mikasa said, poising herself to run if necessary.

“It doesn't sound heavy enough to be the creature from earlier, but it sound like there are multiple creatures. It may not be possible to outrun them if their hostile,” Armin said, tensing up.

They remained standing there, listening as the footsteps came closer to their current position. The bushes in front of them rustled loudly, causing them to jump, and out came...

“Mr. Levi!?” Eren exclaimed, mouth falling open in surprise. Mikasa and Armin had similar looks of shock on their faces as they stared at the unexpected person. 

“Is that Eren's voice I hear?” A feminine voice piped up from behind Levi. The owner of the voice pushed her way past him before he could get a word, revealing herself to be Sasha. More voices came from behind Levi and Sasha, revealing themselves to be their other friends as they clamored forward eagerly to see Eren and his group.

“Sasha? Ymir? Reiner? Ms. Zoe? Jean? What are you all doing here?” Eren asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed at all the attention they were receiving.

“You've been missing for two days and we got worried, so we went to go look for you and meet up with Mr. Levi and Ms. Zoe while in the house. We went up to the attic and found this weird mirror that sucked us when we touched it and wound up here! Oh, and here's your bag! We found it by a stream a ways back,” Sasha replied, handing Eren the bag.

“Thanks,” Eren said, taking the bag from her. “And what do you mean we've been missing for two days? It's only been a few hours since we were sucked into the mirror and thrown into this dimension,” Eren asked quizzically.

“It's possible that time runs slower here than it does back home,” Armin said. 

“You're probably right, but we can discuss that later. For now, we need to find a relatively safe place to gather ourselves and exchange whatever information we might have,” Mikasa said. Levi opened his mouth to say something when a low growl sounded behind them. They all turned around slowly and gasped in terror.

Before them stood a creature that could only be described as monstrous. Only the front half was visible from where they stood, but that was more than they even wanted to see. The creature resembled a giant lizard with a dark green scaly body, long sharp claws, and a frill that opened to surround it's large head when it hissed at them. The top of it's body reached more than halfway up the towering trees around it, and the hungry glint in it's beady eyes and the saliva dripping from it's open mouth gave them the impression that it wasn't friendly. 

“Try to stay together and run!” Levi shouted and bolted into the trees with everyone closely following behind him, not eager to become the creatures lunch. The creature, not happy at having it's food run away from it, gave a loud roar and set off in pursuit of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A note about the time thing. I realized that the timing of when Levi's group entered the dimension and what was going on with Eren's group didn't match up, so I came up with the 'time runs slower in this dimension' thing, which I realize has been done quite a bit with stories dealing with multiple dimensions. Anyways, again sorry about the long wait for the update. I'll try to update more frequently from now on. Till next time!


End file.
